A Peaceful Life
by Almighty Imagination
Summary: After returning from a rough five years fighting in the military, Jack Cooper returns to Flowerbud to live on his family's farm with his Grandfather. But after several traumatic experiences, is Jack ready to return to a quiet, peaceful life?
1. Journey and Arrival

The rapid rattle of machine gun fire was deafening to his ears. He was standing alone in the middle of the desert. Where was the machine gun fire coming from? He searched. He shouted. He screamed. No one was around.

"It's entirely your fault",

The machine gun fire stopped. Jack halted, he had heard this voice before, it sounded so familiar, however he just couldn't put his finger on whose it was,

"You killed us Jack",

He turned around at the feminine voice; it was familiar, but the tone was cold, isolating, He started to run, he had an idea on who the voices belonged to, and he needed to get away. Fast.

He ran as fast as his feet would carry him. A woman suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path, sending him sprawling onto the floor. He recognised the face; it was the face of his mother, but not the mother he had seen in the pictures, where she looked stunningly beautiful, which her soft chocolate brown eyes and sandy brown hair, no, this wasn't her. He yelped at her face covered in burns. Her eyes were dark black, and her hair was singed from the fire. He scrambled to his feet to escape the other way, but his father stopped him, he had fared far worse in the house fire, his burns were so bad that some of his skin had peeled off completely, revealing his bones. His father's skull was partly showing and his hair was dark black to match his eyes; the sight of him was truly horrific.

"All your fault Jack, it's all your fault" His mother cried,

"You are no son of mine", His father continued,

"I- It- It wasn't me! I didn't start the fire! I swear! Let me go!" Jack shouted as his mother took his arm, his father grabbed the machine gun,

"Dad, I didn't kill you! Please!"

* * *

Jack opened his eyes, he realised he was screaming. He put his hand over his mouth. He sat up, his hands were shaking violently, he stared at the ceiling, what was he going to do?

Jack slowly lifted himself out of bed, these dreams were getting much worse, he glanced at the clock to find it was 3am, he hoped that he hadn't woken Luke. He shuffled to the bathroom and opened his travel bag with shaky hands. He rifled through his bag to find his tablets that his Doctor had given him back in America. He knocked them back. These tablets were supposed to get rid of any hallucinations or dreams that troubled him, hopefully they would kick in soon, he didn't fancy another visit from his charred parents.

"Jack, mate, you alright in there?", Luke was knocking at the door, Jack steadied his voice,

"Yeah, sorry Luke, just a nightmare", Jack replied slowly, hoping his voice wouldn't give away the trauma he was going through,

"Oh alright, I just checked our location, we'll arrive in Flowerbud in approximately 2 hours, try and get maybe another hour of sleep, ok? You're going to need it",

"Sure", Jack sighed inwardly, he wasn't sure what his Grandfather would make of all this, military experiences that have messed up his mind, his parents haunting his dreams accusing him of killing them. Maybe he didn't have to tell him everything that had happened, just maybe.

He proceeded to shower and then get dressed in some plain khaki shorts with a dark red shirt, he wanted to look good for his Grandfather, whom he hadn't seen for just over 9 years, and they had a lot of catching up to do, he smoothed his hair down.

Jack put on his white trainers and walked to the front of the boat and watched as the sun rose. He was really looking forward to returning to where he grew up, he missed his friends, but he doubted they would remember him, he looked mostly the same as he did when he was younger, he just had bigger muscles from all the training he had been doing, but he was the same old Jack. He watched the waves calmly move. The old Jack wasn't much to remember, but he just wanted to make his Grandfather proud.

"Hey Jack, we'll be arriving in Flowerbud soon, I assume you know your way round well enough? Or do you want me to help? It's quite a big village", Luke came up behind him and leaned on the rails,

"Oh, thanks Luke, but I was just planning to head to my Grandfather's farm first",

"That's alright, tell him I said hello, I haven't seen him for a few seasons; will I see you on Saturday? The guys gather at the Inn and drink until the sun rises, have some games of darts, few card games, the usual",

"Yeah, that sounds great, thanks for inviting me, I'll be there", Jack smiled, it was nice to know that Luke liked him, he was hoping to meet some new friends, he doubted he would see most of his friends from the city ever again.

"Need some help with your bags? We'll be arriving in around 10 minutes",

"Yeah, thanks Luke",

After hauling 4 suitcases and 2 backpacks out of his room and onto the deck, Luke and Jack shook hands and Jack carried the luggage onto the beach. He carried his bags up the beach and onto the path, while admiring the view of how much the village had changed since he had been gone, he heard a girl behind him;

"Um, who are you?" Jack turned to see Karen, in some _very _short shorts holding boxes which looked quite heavy, and a blush formed on his cheeks, Karen was his childhood crush, how did she not remember him? Did he really look that different? Jack cleared his throat,

"It's me Karen, Jack? You know? I used to live with my Grandfather up on the farm, and we got Gotz to make us a tree house. Gee, Karen, do I really look that different?"

* * *

Karen walked downstairs into the General Store in some comfy shorts and a purple t-shirt yawning, she was startled when her father immediately loaded her up with boxes full with empty wine bottles to go down to Daryl's wine cellar,

"Off you go Karen, he wants them delivered by 7 and you know how grumpy he gets, go on",

Karen stumbled under the weight down the steps and outside, she saw a tall figure walking down the path in front of her with several bags. She narrowed her eyes, she didn't recognise him, and Flowerbud rarely has visitors, she walked a little faster towards him, she wanted to know who he was.

* * *

"It's me Karen, Jack? You know? I used to live with my Grandfather up on the farm, and we got Gotz to make us a tree house. Gee, Karen, do I really look that different?"

"Jack? Is it really you? Jack Cooper?" Karen dropped the boxes of wine and launched herself into a hug, causing Jack to drop all of his bags,

"Oh Jack, where have you been? You look so different!" Karen exclaimed,

"Do I rea- really look that different?" He stuttered, she was stunning, even more than before, and he didn't think that possible,

"You look very different" A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she scanned his body with her eyes, he was so well built, he had the same chocolate brown eyes that he always had, and the floppy brown hair that she's always loved, she was tempted to run her fingers through his hair to see if it was as soft as it looked, "You're in great shape aren't you?" Maybe she shouldn't have said that, she inwardly kicked herself, "I bet it gets you some action with the ladies eh?"

"No, not really, I've never had a girlfriend, actually," that was true, he did have offers of course, he may not have seemed like it to Karen, but he was quite shy when it came to girls, "after I left I joined the military, so I didn't really have time for romance",

"The military? You're brave, you could have gotten killed! You're not going back are you? Please don't go back I've missed you so much!" She blurted out without thinking about what she was saying, "I mean, we've all missed you Jack, especially your Grandfather", Jack was saddened by this, he felt bad for leaving his Grandfather with all the farm work,

"That's why I came back, I figured he's the only family I have left, and he needs my help running the farm, he's getting a bit old", Jack smiled, he hoped he could make his Grandfather proud, as well as his parents, "I should probably go now, I'll probably see you later", Jack picked up his bags and smiled at Karen, she loved it when he smiled, after a few seconds she snapped herself out of her daze,

"Yes, I will see you later Jack", she picked up the boxes of wine bottles and prayed to the Goddess that they weren't broken,

"Bye!" Jack walked down the path towards his Grandfather's farm, Karen watched him go until she could no longer see him, then she walked down the path towards Daryl's house.

Jack carried his bags up the sloped path, then he saw the farm, it was in great shape, he didn't think his Grandfather had it in him; Jack smiled to himself and walked to the small house next to the farm, and knocked on the door.

* * *

**A/N Thank you for reading, please leave a review, I will do my best to get the next one up soon, I hope you liked it!**


	2. Old Friend

Jack knocked on the door again, his Grandfather had always been as deaf as a post, he smiled at the memories of his Grandfather.

The door opened to reveal a man who looked like a 70 year old version of Jack, grey hair and brown eyes, his Grandfather was just as he remembered,

"Grandpa?" Jack looked into the man's eyes, hoping he recognised him,

"Jack? You came back; I knew you would my boy!" The old man hugged Jack so tight that he was struggling to breathe,

"The farm's in great condition Grandpa, better than it ever has been", Jack commented as they both walked outside the house,

"It is, it is, I haven't really been able to do much around here, with my arthritis, so I've got a farmhand to help out, I think you know her", his Grandpa turned and shouted "Ann! We've got a visitor!" A girl emerged out of the barn with hay in her hands and in her bright ginger hair and proceeded to walk towards them, "Ann, I believe you know Jack?"

"Hi Ann", Jack held out his hand for her to shake, "It's great seeing you again, it's been a long time", Ann looked shocked, she dropped the hay and hugged Jack and Jack hugged back, they used to be close as children, but they grew apart when Jack befriended others, including Kai, whom Ann hated with a passion,

"Jack! It has been long hasn't it? Wow, you look great, doesn't he Mr Cooper?" Jack blushed; he was receiving a lot of compliments today,

"He does indeed, big and strong to help you with the farm work Ann, you are staying aren't you boy?"

"Yeah Grandpa, you can't get rid of me now", Jack smiled when Ann and his Grandpa laughed, coming back to Flowerbud was the best decision he ever made, for once he felt appreciated for being who he was.

"Ok, I'll get back to work, hey Jack; do you want to do something later? Ya know, catch up?"

"Yeah, that would be great" Jack replied with a friendly smile, they had a lot of catching up to do.

Ann walked back into the barn to feed the animals with a happy grin on her face, whilst Jack's Grandpa was helping him carry the bags upstairs, they both walked up the stairs and Jack opened his old bedroom door. It was exactly the same as he left it, blue walls which he painted himself, his festival trophies for winning the cooking competition and dancing at one Harvest Festival, he smiled at the memories. He set his bags down, he would unpack later.

"So Jack, my boy, what have I missed?" Grandpa asked as they sat down at the table to eat breakfast,

"Well, after I left I didn't really know what to do with my life, so I went to college and got a business degree, which I had to pay off, so I got various jobs, I worked in bars, shops, as a builder, but none of them really suited me, so I started getting fit, training myself at the gym, using the weights, I finally paid off the college loan and then 2 years later I enlisted in the American military. That's about it really, not very interesting", Jack didn't tell his Grandpa about all the hallucinations and the terrible, terrible things he had seen while being in the army, he didn't want to shock his Grandpa, so just stuck to the basics,

"You were in the army? What a brave lad you are, get it from your father you do", this pulled at Jack's heart strings, he felt his chest tighten, "Can you take some breakfast out to Ann, she must be hungry", Jack hurriedly got up, took the last bits bacon and eggs from the pan, put them on a plate and walked out the door, he sighed deeply, he didn't want to tell his Grandpa about his parents haunting him, but he didn't have much of a choice.

* * *

He walked slowly to the barn, taking in the view; Ann must have seen him because she walked out the barn to meet him in the middle of the field,

"Breakfast is served", Jack smiled politely as he handed her the plate,

"Thanks, I'm so hungry, all this work really takes up a lot of energy", Jack nodded, he turned to walk back to the house,

"Hey Jack, can you meet me at the Inn later, about 5 for a little catch up?" Ann called after him,

"Yeah, see you there!" Jack waved and walked into the house while Ann sat on the field and watched him go, she liked Jack, she _really_ did.

Jack walked back into the house and took his shoes off, his Grandpa told him to go and unpack, because he probably wouldn't have time later, Jack nodded to him and went to his room, this is going to take a long time, he thought. He was right, first he unpacked his suitcases, with all of his clothes, an Xbox 360 in the box, along with a few of his games, he planned on getting this up and running as soon as possible, his picture albums, his travel bag which had his tablets in, which he hid behind a picture frame on his dresser, he didn't want anyone finding those, his wallet, which had quite a lot of money in from his little side jobs he did in the city, and a few souvenirs from his army experience, he had brought along some bullet casings and his Sergeant badge. He put away all of his clothes in his drawers and placed his Sergeant badge on his bed side table. He decided to get changed for when he meets up with Ann at the Inn later. He decided to wear his black jeans and a white Lacoste polo shirt. He looked at his watch, it was 3 in the afternoon, unpacking really did take a long time.

"Jack, can you come down here for a minute please?" He heard his Grandpa call him, Jack bounded down the stairs to find his Grandpa trying to open a bag of rice, Jack smiled and opened it, his Grandpa couldn't open it because of the arthritis in his hands,

"Thank you boy," He patted Jack on the shoulder, Jack ran upstairs and carried down his Xbox, and started to plug it in to the TV, "What's that?" His Grandpa asked from behind him,

"It's a game console Grandpa, I'll teach you how to play when I get it to work", Jack continued to plug everything in while his Grandpa hustled and bustled around the kitchen making curry, which Kai had taught him how to make, he loved Kai's recipes, they were the best in the village.

As they ate the curry they talked about farming and how to grow good crops, Jack was interested in what his Grandpa had to say, he would be doing a lot of farming in the future and he wanted to know how to grow the best crops. Jack looked at the Grandfather clock in the corner; it was 4:30, so he needed to get a move on to meet Ann at the Inn.

"I'll be back soon Grandpa" Jack put his plate in the sink and put his jacket on,

"Don't be out too late Jack, I'll be teaching you some farming basics in the morning", Jack smiled and shut the door, and continued to walk down the path towards the Inn.

Jack opened the door of the Inn to be greeted by Duke, Ann's father,

"Ah hello young man, it's been quite a while since I've seen you, Ann will be down in a minute, she's glad you're back, can't stop talking about you, she can't", Duke realised he probably shouldn't have said that when Jack started to turn red, so Duke quickly went upstairs to get Ann. Jack sat down at one of the tables and waited. After 10 minutes of waiting Ann walked down the stairs with Duke following, she looked amazing, she wasn't all dirty from farming, she definitely knew how to clean herself up, instead of wearing her normal, tom-boyish blue overalls, she was wearing black skinny jeans and a long white top with black buttons, Jack was lost for words.

"Hey Jack, nice shirt", Ann sat down at the table opposite him,

"Hi Ann, um, you look, great", Jack looked down at the table, he really wasn't good with girls,

"Oh, thanks Jack", Ann was thankful he wasn't looking at her as she was turning as red as her hair,

"Do you want to- to go for a walk or something Ann?" he stuttered

"Yeah, that sounds great, let's go" Ann opened the door and he followed her like a lost puppy, he really had no idea what was going to happen next, he just hoped Ann was more of a conversationalist than he was.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you guys, I'm going to start uploading more often now, please leave a review, favourite and follow, thanks again!**


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